'98 Jeep 4.0 Won't Start

85TrailRunner

85TrailRunner

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Joined
Mar 16, 2007
Location
Monroe
I'm in the process of trying to get the engine(recently rebuilt) to start in my '98 Grand Cherokee 4.0 that has been sitting for 3 years now in the garage. The engine will spin over & I've checked cylinder 2-4 for fire(only three plugs I could get my in-line spark tester to) and they were firing & when I removed the plugs all 6 have fuel on them. I can hear the fuel pump kick on when the key is in the on position & when you push in the valve on the fuel rail test point it'll shoot out a stream of gas. I haven't yet tested the actual fuel pressure though. The battery is new(less than 2 weeks old) & I tested it today at work & it passed our digital tester fine. I added some gas to the existing amount but could the gas just be that bad that it wouldn't be combustable even mixed with new gas? It seems like I'm getting fuel & spark but it still won't start or even act like it wants to bust off, anyone have any ideas/suggestions? Thanks.
 
i would shoot some starting fluid in it and see if it fires, and if it does see how it runs....it could be something as simple as plug wires being crossed, maybe the distributor is off a tooth or two (not sure if the 98 is distributorless). if it starts on the juice, then you know your fire is good, and could/would be more related to a fuel issue.....

HTH
 
I tried carburetor cleaner into the throttle body & it still wouldn't start or try to start. Before I had the engine rebuilt I had labeled the spark plug wires as far as which cylinder they went to & I found an online FSM & according to that the firing order is correct from the distributor. I'm not sure about the distributor being off a tooth or even how to check that but I'll look into it.
 
blasterr1 said:
i would shoot some starting fluid in it and see if it fires, and if it does see how it runs....it could be something as simple as plug wires being crossed, maybe the distributor is off a tooth or two (not sure if the 98 is distributorless). if it starts on the juice, then you know your fire is good, and could/would be more related to a fuel issue.....
HTH
Click to expand...

my 97 XJ had a distributor, I think in XJs the 99s were the first year of distributorless but there was no 99 ZJ...

OP-
I would say that after 3 years yes your fuel is trash. Verify fire and replace the fuel. If the plugs are wet, "it" is being injected into the cylinders, if you can be sure you're getting spark at the right time then the most obvious thing would be that "it" isn't combustible anymore.
 
I don't suppose theres a way to "bottlefeed" fuel to newer engine like you could a carburetored engine or is there?
 
Has it started since the rebuild?? If not, my bet is on the distributor being off a tooth or two. If I am not mistaken, those distributors have hold downs that only allow the distributor to be installed in one position. Pull the hold down clamp off and while some one is trying to start the motor, rotate the distributor slowly in either direction to see if it will try to start. If it does, you are a tooth or two off. Good luck.
 
No it hasn't started since the rebuild so it is very well possible that the distributor could be the culprit, I've never messed with a distributor before but theres a first time for everything. I'll try this & post results.
 
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